| 07 August 2011
For some, a few days spent at the Fringe will be the only respite from a summer filled with weddings. So it is merciful perhaps that stand-up comic Charlie Baker’s writing debut spares audiences the taffeta and vows, focusing instead on the reception venue as the jazz band sets up. However, I found myself laughing along in the same polite way one tends to do as the speeches are rolled out at the fifth wedding since May.
Baker used his five years of experience singing jazz at weddings as inspiration and material for Wedding Band, claiming to cover all the universal themes apparent at weddings in this drama—a rather lofty statement all things considered. While the script is certainly comic and the audience laughed along, I found the comedy, as a whole, safe and, unfortunately at times, tepid. The premise allowed for jovial banter between what were well-fleshed-out characters, but the crucial omission is a real plot.
And so I found myself watching the ambitious, panic-prone lead singer Jimmy Blake (Baker) as he desperately tries to keep the gig and gain recognition; hapless piano player Craig Taylor (Spencer Jones) generally f**k things up and charm his way back into favour; wedding planner Sue Todd (Sam Battersea) slowly soften towards her lackluster band; and Krazy Kev (Mick Sergeant), possibly the worst DJ one could imagine holding power over anyone’s first dance. These characters were well-formed but the crux of the drama is whether or not the bride is Jimmy’s ex from sixteen years ago. So ensues fifteen minutes of Jimmy running around, looking for sunglasses as a disguise and panicking, before all is simply resolved. The audience could be forgiven for feeling a little shortchanged.
Don’t expect any kind of grand romance; the closest we get is a jazz-style rendition of Bucks Fizz’s ‘Making Your Mind Up’ (complete with the ripping-off of wedding planner Sue’s apron) but this, for me, was a highlight. This isn’t the Festival’s equivalent of the Royal Wedding, but it might just be worth pitching up for the cake.
Wedding Band: A Comedy Play by Charlie Baker, Gilded Balloon, 6-29 Aug(not 15 and 22), 2:45 pm
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